Chapter 86: The Genius Rogue
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 86: The Genius Rogue
The Monk with the iron staff charged.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
At the terrifying tremor, Ingelam pointed his wand at the ground.
“Rise, Earth Rampart!”
With a flick of his wrist, like a chef flipping a frying pan, he raised his wand, and a five-meter-high wall erupted from the ground.
The fortress-like structure completely blocked the Monk’s path.
But an arcing arrow will come flying over.
Ingelam knew their next move. The Elf Archer on their team had the ability to shoot targets over obstacles.
Swoosh!
Just as he barely managed to block the incoming arrow with a magic shield, Ingelam realized his mistake.
It wasn’t just one arrow!
Yernil had fired a three-shot burst in a high arc. Last time, she had unleashed all three on the druid, but this time was different.
The other two arrows…
“Ugh…”
…were lodged in the chest and abdomen of the Barbarian, who had lost his shield.
“You!”
Ingelam rushed toward him in horror.
“Those bastards… How is that even possible?”
The Barbarian spat out a mouthful of blood and roughly yanked the arrows from his body.
He uncorked a healing potion and poured it over his wounds.
“How the hell are they guys who just got to the 4th floor today?”
“I know. It makes sense they’d team up with Neko to target us.”
Ingelam gave a bitter smile.
The Barbarian gritted his teeth and replied, “Ingelam. No time to rest.”
A presence could be felt atop the earthen wall.
Someone had gotten on top of it.
Sentry Reposition!
Yernil had teleported onto the earthen wall, landing perfectly. Having secured the high ground, she drew her bowstring.
And on the ground a short distance away…
CRASH!
Aimus used Smashing Gaia to punch a hole through the other side of the wall.
“Ingelam. Get back a little.”
The Barbarian shoved Ingelam hard to the side.
Then he raised the axe in his hand high into the air, like a child in school eagerly raising their hand to answer a teacher’s question.
But the action that followed was far more ferocious.
If the Monk had become a monster, plastered in buffs and blessings, then he would become a monster too.
“GRAAAAH!”
The Barbarian’s roar awakened the spirits of his ancestors sleeping within him. Just like when he was trained by the elder warriors of his tribe in the frigid northern lands, just like during festivals, just like when battling other tribes.
His heart pounded like a drum.
Berserk.
As power surged through his body, a grin spread across the Barbarian’s face.
His unbreakable morale, even in the face of serious injury and a disadvantageous battle, stemmed from the unique belligerence of a Barbarian.
An offensive instinct so overwhelming he could barely distinguish friend from foe. A wildness as explosive as a 4th-floor volcano erupted toward Aimus.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
The Barbarian, axe aimed forward, was about to collide head-on with the monstrous Monk.
Yernil took out a magic arrowhead, along with a consumable combat scroll Caleb had given her earlier.
Questionable Trip.
It was a cheap, close-range activation scroll that used combat magic to trip a target.
The damage itself was negligible, but all she needed to do was knock the Barbarian down. Aimus would finish him off after that.
Twang!
But at the very moment Yernil fired the arrow…
“What!”
Ingelam suddenly threw himself forward and grabbed the Barbarian’s arm.
“They vanished!”
The two of them disappeared without a trace, only to reappear some twenty meters away.
And…
“Ground Collapse.”
A Tier 3 spell was cast from the tip of Ingelam’s wand.
*
Vine Bind.
It was a Tier 2 nature affinity spell available to druids.
It summoned tough, sturdy vines to restrain a target.
This spell made the Halfling Druid a key tactical element in Ingelam’s party. It wasn’t necessary when fighting mobs like the brass golems in the field, but in an emergency, it was an incredible asset.
For instance, when fighting another skilled party, or facing a powerful exit boss.
Or in a situation like now, where they had to take down a monster like the Golden Golem.
When they had suddenly encountered the Golden Golem and the blacksmith in the Steelmaking Chamber, the druid had been hit by the three-shot burst and could barely move, so they hadn’t been able to respond properly.
“Get it!”
But now, he had recovered enough to cast spells.
Vines summoned by the Halfling Druid entangled the Golden Golem.
Like a lasso thrown by a gunslinger in the Wild West, vines flew in from all directions, binding the Golden Golem’s arms, shoulders, and wrists, pulling it down and pinning it to the ground.
The Golden Golem was still standing with incredible endurance, but it could hardly move.
It spewed liquid gold, but the gold plating had no effect on the vines.
Thwack!
Thwack!
Two thrown daggers flew in at the same time, embedding themselves in the Golden Golem’s face.
They were thrown by Back Attack and the Avian Rogue.
Then, as the monster staggered, Neko the Constable Mage cast a Tier 2 spell.
“Giant’s Fist.”
A psychokinetic fist as massive as the Golden Golem materialized above her shoulder.
It was a spell that required absolute concentration on the summoned entity, and assuming that concentration wasn't broken, it could exert physical force proportional to her Wisdom stat.
The fist itself was so large that fine control like psychokinesis was impossible, but…
CRASH!
…it could smash down on the Golden Golem like a hammer.
Liquid gold dripped from the underside of the psychokinetic fist as it slowly rose from the monster, now pinned to the floor by the vines.
After creating a few meters of distance…
CRASH!
The psychokinetic fist slammed down again on the Golden Golem as it tried to get up.
Liquid gold splattered everywhere.
While the druid and the mage suppressed the Golden Golem, the two rogues’ eyes were busy.
They had nothing left to do. Trying to engage the Golden Golem in close combat was just asking to be gold-plated. The best they could do was watch from a distance.
If Neko couldn’t kill the Golden Golem, the four of them might as well just disband here.
CRASH!
The psychokinetic fist struck a third time.
The golem collapsed.
We can take it.
They were sure of it.
“…”
Back Attack and the Avian Rogue silently exchanged glances.
They were both thinking the same thing. They were going to attack each other.
In battles like this, rogues typically targeted positions with weak close-combat capabilities first, like mages, druids, or priests.
In this 2-on-2 fight, each side had one such weakness.
And both Neko and the druid were more vulnerable than usual to a surprise attack, as they were concentrating on Giant’s Fist and Vine Bind.
Everyone knew this.
“Back Attack.”
Neko called to him quietly as she brought the fist down a fourth time.
“You’re going to protect me, right?”
The opposing party’s druid and Avian Rogue already had a considerable bond of trust. They had likely been working together under Ingelam for a long time.
But Neko and Back Attack were different.
In fact, to be honest, it was a miracle Neko was able to concentrate fully on her Giant’s Fist at all.
She had no idea when the Avian Rogue might attack with a Leap Ambush.
Click.
The Avian Rogue was fidgeting with his dagger.
A cold sweat trickled down Neko’s neck.
And just then…
“Sparrow.”
Back Attack suddenly called out to the Avian Rogue.
“What?”
“Your leader wanted to recruit our party, right?”
“So?”
“I don’t know what our party leader thinks, but the more I think about it, the more tempting it sounds.”
“…”
“Can I join up first?”
The Avian Rogue laughed, and Neko was horrified.
“Wh-what are you talking about?”
Her psychokinetic fist trembled violently. Her concentration had become unstable.
“Nice try. You think I’m that much of a sucker? You think I’d fall for that?” the Avian Rogue scoffed.
“I’m serious.”
“How can I trust you?”
“As proof, I’ll kill this constable for you.”
The psychokinetic fist shattered.
The Golden Golem, pinned to the floor, didn’t move, but Back Attack began striding toward Neko.
“W-wait a minute…”
Flustered by the sudden turn of events, Neko stumbled backward.
The Avian Rogue and the druid were also quite taken aback by his sudden action.
This rogue, who had just entered the 4th floor today, moved without a shred of hesitation.
“Back Attack! Get a grip!”
Neko’s terrified expression, her wand aimed at Back Attack.
“What are you doing!”
Her shout proved that this was a genuine case of infighting.
“Sorry, Neko. Nothing personal.”
“Whirlwind!”
Neko finally fired a spell, but it was useless against Back Attack.
Leap Ambush.
In an instant, the rogue leaped over the wind and Neko, landing behind her.
Mages were always at a disadvantage against rogues. It was difficult to deal with this kind of surprise attack.
Neko felt something sharp against her lower back.
But it was the hilt of the dagger, not the blade.
Back Attack hadn’t stabbed her. Instead…
Invisibility.
“That bastard!”
The Avian Rogue immediately shot into the air.
Back Attack’s little trick was a ploy to protect the mage.
An invisible Neko would be hidden from the Avian Rogue’s sight. He had made her untargetable.
Of course, this was a predictable scenario when approaching a mage, but because the rogue had seized the initiative by deceiving even his own teammate, Neko, the Avian Rogue had missed his chance to stop him.
A split-second mistake had given him the upper hand.
But it was fine.
He could still tell where the mage was.
Shadow Leap!
The spot where Back Attack had moved with Neko. The thing he was ‘holding’ in his hand.
Neko’s arm.
CRASH!
The Avian Rogue activated Leap Ambush and slammed down on that spot.
But his blade cut through empty air.
There was nothing next to Back Attack.
“Ha, fuck.”
He hadn’t cast Shadow Leap on both of them. He had left Neko right where she was.
His ‘grip’ was a fake. He had just shaped his hand as if he were holding something.
“Hehehe.”
With a cunning laugh, Back Attack flipped his palm over. He had left a different gift for the Avian Rogue who had chased him.
Sleeping Gas.
A magical smoke billowed from his palm, enveloping the 5th-floor rogue.
It was a skill Back Attack had newly learned from the fountain in the steelworks, one that could put a target to sleep for three turns. It could be activated from a distance, but its success rate dropped as the gas dispersed.
Conversely, when detonated at point-blank range like this, even a much higher-level 5th-floor rogue would find it difficult to resist. The gas was just too concentrated.
“Kuh…”
As the staggering rogue’s consciousness grew hazy, the druid extended both hands toward him.
“Awakening Sunrise.”
He was trying to wake him up with a mental-type nature affinity spell.
“Hmph!”
At the same time, Back Attack clenched his fists. Adrenaline Rush.
In his fading consciousness, the Avian Rogue realized the situation had turned dire. A rogue knows a rogue. The Tier 1 skill Back Attack had just reset was probably…
Leap Ambush.
“Keuk!”
The blade of the rogue who had just arrived on the 4th floor today finally plunged into the druid’s back.
“Scorching Ray.”
Simultaneously, a red flame erupted from thin air. It was fired from the wand of the invisible Neko.
A massive laser beam seared the ground as it rushed toward the Avian Rogue.
FWOOSH!
The Avian Rogue was still dazed by the sleeping gas and couldn’t steady himself. The Scorching Ray could have incinerated him in an instant, but…
“…!”
Suddenly, the ground shook.
With a powerful tremor, RUMBLE!
Swoosh!
The Scorching Ray missed, burning nothing but empty air.
Ground Collapse.
The Halfling Druid, who had fallen over at the same time as Back Attack, instantly grasped the cause of the situation as he crawled on the floor.
Ingelam is right next to us.
*
It felt like being near the scene of a gas explosion.
The sound, that is.
BOOM! An unidentifiable roar echoed, and a powerful vibration reached all the way here.
It was coming from the direction of the Production Control Room. Something serious was happening over there.
“We have to hurry. Come on!”
I sprinted with Lilweed toward the Steelmaking Chamber.
We climbed over and leaped across the debris in the connecting passage to get to the other side.
I scouted ahead with the Watcher I’d slipped through a gap in the structure.
And a moment later…
What the hell is that?
The scene captured by the Watcher was rather shocking.
It was a view of Back Attack shoving the Halfling Druid into a puddle of liquid gold on the floor.
“You son of a bitch—!”
The Avian Rogue’s shout echoed from beyond the broken debris.
The Halfling Druid was being gold-plated, hardening into a statue.
Neko was aiming her wand at the Avian Rogue, firing off a barrage of spells.
The Avian Rogue dodged them and flew into the sky.
“Dust Explosion.”
I cast a spell to break through the debris.
In the battlefield beyond the wall, displayed on the Watcher’s scroll, Back Attack ran straight up the wall.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
He sprinted along the wall like Sonic, all the way to the ceiling. The genius rogue, running upside down, then leaped from the air.
Thump!
He grabbed the Avian Rogue, breaking his wings.
Wait. Are those guys…
Do they think the Golden Golem is dead?
BOOM!
The debris was blown away by the Dust Explosion.
And…
CRASH!
The wall on the opposite side also shattered, and someone burst out.
It was Ingelam and the Barbarian.
A few people were missing, but we were reunited in the Steelmaking Chamber.
“It’s the blacksmith!”
The Barbarian yelled in terror upon seeing me.